Tag: Leroy Merlin

Bogaris Invests €25M in its New Shopping Centre in León

31 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Bogaris is on a roll in Spain following the opening of the Torrecárdenas shopping centre last week. The company, which specialises in the development of large commercial, logistics and industrial spaces, has invested €25 million in the development of its new shopping centre in León, according to comments made by the company’s Director General, Javier Marín, to Eje Prime.

The plot on which the Reino de León shopping centre is going to be located spans a total surface area of 54,000 m2. Of that space, Bogaris’s project will occupy a gross leasable area (GLA) of 26,000 m2, and tenants have already been identified for more than half: Leroy Merlín will occupy 10,000 m2 and Decathlon is going to lease another 4,000 m2.

The Reino de León shopping centre will also have other operators, such as Conforama, McDonald’s and Kiwoko. “We still need to find a tenant for an 800 m2 unit that we want to dedicate to the food sector”, said Marín. Nevertheless, the company is determined to start work on the construction of the complex between the end of this year and the beginning of 2019.

Bogaris also has another project underway that it is planning to start work on at the same time as Reino de León. That is a shopping centre in Lisbon, located on a plot with a buildable surface area of 23,000 m2 and around 45,000 m2 of land. In that case, the company has already confirmed Leroy Merlin, Conforama and the hypermarket chain Continente Modelo as tenants.

Currently, the group is working on other new projects, in the marketing and urban development phases, in Cataluña, Levante, Andalucía and Castilla y León. (…).

For the time being, the company wants to consolidate its presence in the Iberian Peninsula, although it does not rule out expanding overseas at some point (…).

With more than twenty years of experience, the group has its headquarters in Andalucía, the region where it began its activity, firstly by investing in the industrial sector and then in supermarkets (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by B. Seijo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Eurofund Logistic Capital Partners Acquires a 130,000 m2 Plot in Corredor de Henares

15 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Eurofund and Logistic are continuing to push ahead together in the Spanish logistics sector. The joint venture, created by the two groups in 2017, Eurofund Logistic Capital Partners (Elcp), has purchased a plot of land measuring 130,000 m2 in the Corredor de Henares for the development of a new logistics project on the site, according to explanations provided by the company to Eje Prime.

The plot is located in the third ring of Madrid, on a large industrial estate in Torija (Guadalajara), with direct access to the A2 motorway, one of the main logistics axes in Spain that links Madrid and Barcelona.

Elcp is going to develop a Class A logistics project spanning 80,000 m2 on the site. Located 30 minutes from Barajas airport and 45 minutes from the centre of the Spanish capital, the land is “one of the few available buildable sites with the capacity to house a new building of this size”, said the Director-General of LCP, James Markby.

Marketing of the project, which is going to be a turnkey development, will begin immediately. On the same industrial estate in Torija where it has purchased this land, Eurofund Logistic already owns logistics centres leased to large multinationals such as Primark, Leroy Merlin and Bridgestone, amongst others.

During the nine months to September, logistics leasing in Spain amounted to 1.38 million m2, up by 17% with respect to the same period in 2017. In parallel, investment exceeded the €1.1 billion threshold during the first nine months of the year, up by 43%, according to data from the consultancy firm CBRE.

In Madrid, 632,000 m2 of logistics space was leased, almost equalling the figure recorded during the same period in 2017. Of that amount, more than 50% of the assets corresponded to operations involving warehouses with a surface area of more than 20,000 m2.

Eurofund Logistic: almost 1 million m2 under management

The latest purchase by Eurofund Logistic forms part of the growth plan that the company has underway in Spain and Portugal. Created in February 2017, the joint venture currently has 775,000 m2 of logistics assets under management.

Moreover, the joint venture is planning to start work on 650,000 m2 of logistics properties. One of the parties, Eurofund Capital Partners is a subsidiary of the Spanish group Eurofund, which, in addition to the logistics sector, also develops and manages assets, primarily in the retail segment.

Last week, Eurofund was given the green light for its new commercial macro-project in Lleida, as reported by Eje Prime. That project is known as the Torre Salses retail complex; it has a surface area of 56,000 m2 and construction of it will begin in the autumn of 2019.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Vidanova Parc Shopping Mall to be Inaugurated on September 27

10 August 2018

The official inauguration of Vidanova Parc is scheduled for September 27, according to Lar España Real Estate’s project director, José Antonio García. The shopping centre will thus open to the public on the last weekend of September. However, the new shopping centre, the most important one between Valencia and Castellón, is already operating on a partial basis, since Leroy Merlin opened its doors to the public on June 22 to take advantage of the summer months, which are some of the most important, in terms of sales, for the French multinational.

Mr García highlighted the fact that 100% of the stores have already been allocated to different operators. As has been reported, Vidanova Parc will have about 40 top-flight brands, including Leroy Merlin, Decathlon, C&A, Worten, Urban Planet, Yelmo Cinemas, Norauto, Fifty Factory, Conforama, Casa y Más y Más, guaranteeing a well-rounded commercial offering encompassing sports, DIY, fashion, entertainment and leisure. There will also be a food hall, with restaurateurs such as Grupo Vips (Ginos and Smart VIPs), Burger King, KFC, Lizarrán, Volapié and Pans & Company, among others.

The stores will be dispersed among the more than 45,000 square meters of gross lettable area at the complex, which occupies a total of 120,000 square meters, including parking for more than 2,350 vehicles.

Lar España Real Estate stated that Vidanova Parc has an excellent location, considering that nearly 250,000 people live close to the shopping centre, and also factoring in the thousands of tourists who spend their vacations in the region.

The shopping centre underwent a total investment of some 93 million euros. Lar España Real Estate contributed €53 million, while different operators contributed the rest. One of the larger secondary investors was Leroy Merlin, which opened an 8,000-m2 store within a 10,000-m2 plot of land, investing 17 million euros.

Inauguration initially slated for 2012

On February 9, 2012, at the offices of the company Alser, Julián Castelblanque and José Antonio García, a press conference was held to present a project for the then-named Cruce de Caminos Shopping Centre, whose opening was scheduled for 2014. However, the project had to overcome all sorts of obstacles and complications that eventually tripled the time needed to open the mall, because instead of 2014, it will finally be inaugurated in 2018, four years later.

Original Story: Eleconomico.es

Translation: Richard Turner

C&W: New Retail Park Openings in 2018 Set to Exceed Those Registered in 2017 by Five-Fold

7 June 2018 – Eje Prime

Out-of-town retail parks are seducing the sector. Planned openings of retail parks in Spain this year span a surface area of 180,000 m2, which represents an almost five-fold increase compared to the 38,000 m2 registered in 2017, according to data analysed by the real estate consultancy firm Cushman&Wakefield. Specifically, the investment volume over the last 12 months in this segment amounted to €650 million, with a prime yield of 5%.

During this period, the Vidanova Parc project, in Sagunto (Community of Madrid) is the largest planned opening for the year with a gross leasable area of 45,000 m2, followed by the Torrevillage retail park (Zaragoza), with 35,000 m2 and Jaén Plaza (Jaén), with 29,000 m2. In addition, a further seven retail parks, with a combined GLA of more than 10,000 m2 are in the pipeline.

The consultancy firm has identified an increase in the demand for secondary retail parks in light of the shortage of available prime locations, greater activity in the home and decoration sectors and the consolidation of omnichannel sales

In this way, the firm highlights traditional operators such as Leroy Merlin, Ikea, Media Markt and Maison du Monde, which have expanded their presence towards the centre of cities in spaces measuring between 1,500 m2 and 4,000 m2, in search of more urban demand, with new ways of consumption and a lower dependence on cars.

On the other hand, rents remain stable in both prime and secondary retail parks. Thus, in Madrid, they amount to €21.50/m2/month and in Barcelona, they cost €18/m2/month for prime parks.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Portuguese-based Renovations Expert Melom Arrives in Spain

23 May 2018 – Eje Prime

Melom has started work in Spain. The renovation franchise network, founded in Portugal, has arrived in Madrid with the aim of invoicing up to €50 million in five years. Having launched its business in the Madrilenian market in March, the company already has ten franchises and hopes to grow that figure to fifty by the end of the year. “We have come here to transform the renovation sector”, says José Luis Carrone (pictured below), Director General of the company in the country.

The director, who has extensive experience in the sector, explains that “there is complete dispersion and intrusiveness in this market: we want to integrate all parts of a construction project, as well as to introduce a technological element”. With this idea, Carrona is going to start talking “from September onwards” with investors, at home and overseas, and with insurance companies, with the aim of weaving agreements for collaboration and exclusivity. “Right now in Spain, there are companies buying buildings as investments, to resell or lease, and, clearly, they are a target for us”, revealed the company’s CEO.

The idea is to replicate the model that Melom has built in Portugal where it exclusively performs all of the renovation and facilities work offered in the stores of the DIY giant Leroy Merlin and it collaborates with the network of real estate agencies ReMax. Not in vain, one of Carrone’s partners in Spain and co-founder of the group in Portugal is Manuel Álvarez, President of ReMax in Portugal. Melom’s third associate in Spain is Joao Carvalho.

National expansion in 2019

Through small and medium-sized companies in the renovation and construction sector, Melom aspires to gain ground in Madrid. “The city has an economic strength equivalent to almost the whole of Portugal in this market, and so the opportunities for growth could multiply if we do things well”, said Carrone.

The director, who has been working with investors to renovate buildings in Madrid and Barcelona since 2016, comes from the industrial construction sector where he worked on large oil and gas refineries.

“What I have done in recent years is get to know the market, to see what is needed and that is how Melom appeared on my radar”, said Carrone, who highlights “that the issues of managing the orders that are entrusted to us and the post-sales service that is provided to clients are some of the features that we want to boost in the country”.

For this reason, “although the first objective is to grow in Madrid”, the businessman is already looking with interest at other regions in Spain. “We already have important orders from other communities, but we will not begin to expand the network until next year”, says the executive. One of the first places that Melom will get started is Cataluña, although the company is also interested in other smaller areas of the country. “In the Canary Islands, for example, local players have expressed interest”, reveals Carrone. With expansion into other regions, the company forecasts a turnover of €3.5 million and 90 franchises in the portfolio, which will increase to 200 by 2022.

What is clear, according to the director, is that Spain is “at the perfect moment for this market, given that investors are revaluing the real estate sector, which was in ruins” (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by J. Izquierdo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Leroy Merlin Will Arrive in Madrid’s Centre in 2018 after an Investment of Nearly €5 million

25 June 2017 – Expansión

The company will open a store on Madrid’s retail ‘golden mile’, taking over a space that was vacated by Cortefiel.

Leroy Merlin will land in Madrid’s centre in the first quarter of 2018, after investing nearly five million euros in a 2,500-square-meter commercial area that will generate 100 jobs, according to a statement by the company.

The DIY retail chain is thus following in the footsteps of other multinationals such as Ikea and Media Markt, which have been opting to create presences in the centres of major cities.

The company’s first urban store in Madrid will be located on Raimundo Fernández Villaverde 43-45, taking advantage of the fashion company Cortefiel’s sale of one of its flagship stores, on Madrid’s golden mile.

Leroy Merlin Spain’s director of development, Juan Sevillano, highlighted the importance of the opening. “This store in the city centre follows on the heels of another announcement, a few weeks ago, of a new store in the centre of Barcelona and the recently opened store in Vigo, which is also located in the centre of the city,” he noted, regarding the company’s decision to position itself in city centres.

“This strategy is the result of Leroy Merlin’s constant attention to the changing needs of its consumers, who are demanding closer geographical proximity,” he explained.

Leroy Merlin plans to continue opening stores in city centres after opening the stores in Madrid and Barcelona. “The company intends to look for other locations in the centres of other major Spanish cities,” Sevillano stressed.

Job creation

The new store will create approximately 70 direct and 30 indirect jobs and will specialise in projects and decoration, offering its consumers more than 10,000 items for sale.

Leroy Merlin Madrid will join the other nine points of sale that the company currently has in the region. This inauguration is part of the firm’s 2017-2021 expansion plan, in which it expects to open 31 stores in Spain, in an investment of more than 608 million euros.

The French multinational closed 2016 with an increase in net profits of 5.02%, to 93.18 million euros. Leroy Merlin also set a new sales record in the year, reaching 1,931 million euros, 8.6% more than in 2015.

Original Story: Expansión / Europa Press

Translation: Richard Turner

Portal del l’Ángel is Still Spain’s Most Expensive High Street: €280/m2/month

19 February 2018 – Eje Prime

The retail sector strengthened its market during 2017. During the second half of the year, it saw growth in the demand for rental properties of 14%, whilst the number of premises for sale rose by 9%. Of all of the high streets across the land, Portal de l’Ángel in Barcelona retained its position as the most expensive in Spain, with an average rent of €280/m2/month, ahead of the Madrilenian street Calle Preciados, where the average price of a retail premise stands at €270/m2/month.

Last year, €4 billion was invested in the Spanish retail sector, in contrast to the crisis that the same market is currently experiencing in the USA. The reasons for the growth in Spain include, amongst other aspects, the strong economic outlook, the boom in commercial tourism and the dynamism of retail trade, according to a report from the real estate consultancy firm Forcadell.

The upward trend, which has now seen two years of increases, is encouraging demand for retail assets. Nevertheless, in cities such as Barcelona, the supply of premises for rent remains at very low levels, above all on the first and second line, which has led to a reactivation of the third line, according to the report.

This lack of commercial space has resulted in a scarcity of prime assets in the Catalan capital. Some companies have already chosen to move to less central locations or to opt for other formats to invest in retail.

Between June and December, the restaurant sector was the segment that grew by the most in the commercial sector in Barcelona, followed by the fashion operator segment, which increased its commitment to flagship stores and showrooms, and the food retail market, which is immersed in a process of positioning itself close to its customers. The profile of investors in retail in the city are Socimis and foreign investment funds.

Investments in Barcelona  

One of the most noteworthy operations closed during the second half of 2017 in Barcelona saw the opening of Uniqlo’s flagship store on Passeig de Gràcia, the Japanese firm’s first store in Barcelona, which spans a surface area of 1,800 m2.

On the same street, Adolfo Domínguez is also going to open a mega-store measuring 682 m2, whilst nearby, on Rambla de Catalunya, the French lingerie brand Etam has inaugurated a store measuring 500 m2. Finally, Leroy Merlin is finalising the opening of an establishment measuring 2,450 m2 on Calle Fontanella, near Plaça de Catalunya, scheduled for before the spring.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aguirre Newman: Almost 1 million m2 of Logistics Space Leased in Madrid & Barcelona YTD

21 November 2017 – El Inmobiliario Mes a Mes

In total, 929,698 m2 of logistics space was leased in Madrid and Barcelona during the first three quarters of 2017, up by 22.6% compared to the same period in 2016, whilst the volume of investment in logistics assets reached €600 million. That figure represents 76% of the total recorded last year, which marked a historical maximum investment volume in Spain, according to Aguirre Newman.

During the third quarter of 2017, the high level of investor interest in logistics assets, which started four years ago, continued to flourish. It was boosted by factors such as the consolidation of economic growth, the gradual improvement in household consumption, rising rental prices in the main markets and improvements in financing conditions.

The initial rate of return for the most prime assets in the best locations amounted to around 6%, and rates of around 5.5% were seen for certain one-off operations. According to the report from Aguirre Newman, the scarce supply in the main logistics markets in Madrid and Barcelona is affecting the market in two ways. On the one hand, interest in secondary markets is continuing to rise, most notably in Zaragoza, Valencia and Sevilla. On the other hand, there is a high degree of interest in buying land, either to develop speculative projects or to build turnkey projects, under forward funding or forward purchasing formats.

Demand for logistics space in Madrid during the third quarter of the year reached 226,757 m2, compared to the total cumulative space leased in 2017 of 614,070 m2. That figure represents an increase of 52% with respect to the same period last year. Both the activity recorded during the third quarter – which is closely related to e-commerce – as well as that registered during the year to date represent record levels never seen before, and so the report forecasts that the end of 2017 will also be very positive in light of the operations currently underway.

The most significant operation in terms of the volume of surface area leased in the third quarter was completed in Illescas (Toledo), where an operation involving a turnkey project with a surface area of 103,000 m2 was signed. That was followed by another operation closed by Leroy Merlin in Meco with a surface area of 59,914 m2. In terms of rental income, the maximum recorded was €4.85/m2/month, as a result of an operation closed in the Corredor del Henares, specifically in San Fernando de Henares.

According to Aguirre Newman’s research, activity in the market for land dedicated to logistics/industrial use has grown considerably with respect to previous quarters, with the completion of seven operations spanning a combined surface area of 379,096 m2, destined for both turnkey and at-risk projects. The most significant land operation was the purchase of a plot measuring 242,000 m2 in Illescas (Toledo) for the development of the aforementioned logistics platform (103,000 m2).

On the other hand, the leasing of logistics space in Barcelona amounted to 91,406 m2 during the third quarter, which represents a slight decrease of 9% compared to the same period in 2016. Meanwhile, the total surface area leased during the first nine months of 2017 amounted to 315,628 m2.

Vallès Oriental and Barcelonès were the most active regions in terms of the number of operations, where three and two operations were closed, respectively. In terms of the largest operations closed, a contract was signed in Alt Penedès for a space spanning 20,000 m2 and in Vallès Oriental, another contract was signed for a space measuring 14,000 m2. Prime rents continued at their levels of between €5.75/m2/month and €6.75/m2/month. Nevertheless, the report from Aguirre Newman highlights that one operation was closed in the Zona Franca Consortium with a rental price above the prime rate indicated.

Leasing of logistics space soars in Valencia

Moreover, during the first nine months of the year in the Valencia metropolitan area, 135,250 m2 of logistics space was leased. That figure represents an increase of 35% with respect to the same period a year earlier, according to BNP Paribas Real Estate.

In that region, demand focused primarily on the town of Ribarroja, which accounts for 80% of the surface area leased (…).

Original story: El Inmobiliario Mes a Mes

Translation: Carmel Drake

JLL: Retail Inv’t Will Soar To €4,000M+ In 2017

6 November 2017 – Eje Prime

The retail segment is attracting the attention of investment funds and is set a register a new record in 2017. Investment in retail assets is expected to soar by the end of this year to exceed €4,000 million, according to estimates from the real estate consultancy firm JLL. Operations such as the sale of the Mercado de San Miguel and the Mercado de Fuencarral, both in Madrid, will help this segment of the Spanish real estate sector record a new milestone this year.

So far this year, the commercial premises business has already broken all the records and registered the highest level of investment for the last fourteen years. During the nine months to September, the volume of investment in the retail sector amounted to almost €3,488 million, according to the Market Fundamentals report for Q3, compiled by the consultancy firm.

“The inter-annual footfall index in Spain rose by 1.7% in September and retail sales rose by 0.9% with respect to the previous month”, explain professionals in the retail business. This fact, together with the reality that prime rents are continuing to grow at a good pace, means that funds are looking very closely at retail premises.

The large operations involving portfolios of hypermarkets located across Spain stand out, as do the sales of the Mercado de San Miguel and the Gran Vía Alicante shopping centre. Other operations, such as the sale of Mercado de Fuencarral by Activum to AEW for €50 million have also helped to boost business in this segment in Spain.

“In terms of trends in the retail sector, over the last few months, we have seen how the traditional large format retailers are continuing to move into the city centres, convinced that their proximity to consumers will generate greater sales opportunities for them”, explain sources at JLL. Examples include Decathlon’s arrival on Calle Fuencarral and the opening of a Leroy Merlin store in the heart of Barcelona.

Another example is the case of Ikea on Calle Serrano. The Swedish group has just debuted its “test” of its new format, known as Ikea Temporary; it opened the doors of its first establishment in the centre of Madrid, in a building owned by the Loncito family office.

Moreover, last month, Media Markt opened its third urban store in Madrid, in the central Plaza del Carmen, close to the Preciados shopping street. In this way, Media Markt Preciados became the company’s 81st store in Spain and its 11th in Madrid.

Although the brand dedicated to the distribution of consumer electronics has now opened several stores under this “proximity format” in Valencia (Calle de Colón), Madrid (Calle de Alcalá and Paseo de la Castellana) and Barcelona (Plaza Cataluña and the Digital Store on Avenida Diagonal), the company is looking to further consolidate its arrival in Spain’s city centres with this latest opening.

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Merlin Properties Closes the Logistics Deal of the Year in Spain

2 November 2017

The socimi owned by Santander and BBVA signed a lease with Leroy Merlin to occupy 100% of its Meco logistics platform.

The real estate investment company Merlin Properties has closed the largest rental operation of a logistics asset in the Spanish market in 2017, after leasing its Meco logistics platform. The tenant that will occupy the logistical platform, located in the northeast area of the Community of Madrid, will be the furniture and decoration firm Leroy Merlin, which will take over the platform’s almost 60,000 square meters. Formed by three warehouses totalling 59,814 square meters on an 87,974 sqm plot of land, the complex was developed, built and marketed by Merlin, which, after months of construction, has just been completed.

The company invested 29.4 million euros in its development, and it will be the first logistics platform in Spain with Leed Platinum efficiency and sustainability certification.

Merlin Properties and Leroy Merlin’s record deal underlines the impressive moment that the real estate logistics market is going through, triggered by the growth of consumption and the rise of e-commerce. Thus, contracted space in the logistics sector in the Madrid market and its area of influence reached 233.357 square meters in the third quarter of 2017, which is one of the highest occupancy rates, together with the previous quarter’s figure, in the historical series, BNP Paribas Real Estate explained.

In total, throughout 2017, the hiring of logistics space in the Madrid market reached 633,438 square meters, a historic high for the series.

Between January and June, Merlin Properties had a turnover of 243 million euros, of which 235 million came from rental income, 53% more than in the same period of 2016. The socimi’s Ebitda increased by 47% to €198.6 million, while net profit went from €211.14 million to €421 million this year.

Original Story: Expansión – Rocío Ruiz

Translation: Richard Turner